Flu Vaccine Still Available, But Spot Shortages Exist

 

 

 

# 6852

 

With influenza prominently in the news, and localized `flu emergencies’ declared in Boston & New York, many people who opted not to take the flu shot this year are reconsidering, and are in search of the vaccine.

 

While late in the season, manufacturers say vaccine is still available (and more can be shipped), but you may have to do a little phoning around in order to find out who still has it in stock.

 

Spot shortages are being reported around the country, with some pharmacies are down to their last vial, waiting for a new shipment.

 

A few representative news reports from the past couple of days.

 

Bridgeport has flu vaccine, shortages elsewhere - Ct Post-Jan 10, 2013

"Spot Shortages" of Flu Vaccine Reported; Some SoCal locations Out - NBC Southern California

 

Flu Shot Shortage in Pittsburg - Four States Homepage-Jan 11, 2013

Nasty Flu Season Sparks Spotty Vaccine Shortages - CNBC.com-Jan 11, 2013

Flu shot shortage in parts of the Valley - KPHO Phoenix-Jan 11, 2013

 

 

The best way to locate where flu shots may still be available is via Healthmap’s Flu Vaccine Finder. By entering your zip code, you’ll get a map showing the locations (and addresses & Ph #’s) of places near you where shots are provided.

Healthmap Vaccine Finder

 

But fair warning, it is late in the season and flu vaccines are going fast, and so you should call ahead to make sure they still have shots available.   

»» Read More

A Flu Near You Snapshot

 

 

# 6802

 

Yesterday I highlighted the latest CDC FluView report – for the week of December 9th-15th – that indicated continued increases in flu activity around the country.

 

These reports are essentially a snapshot of flu activity as it was being reported a week or 10 days ago.

Week 50 ILI activity – Source CDC FluView

 

Doctors, epidemiologists, and other public health officials would prefer a more current status report, but collecting, collating, and analyzing data takes time. 

 

So these reports are always a week or so behind.

 

One recent attempt to use the internet to track influenza activity is the Flu Near You project, which I’ve written about in the past. Run by Healthmap of Children’s Hospital Boston in partnership with the American Public Health Association and the Skoll Global Threats Fund, this project maps self-reported influenza-like-illness from its volunteers.

 

While self-reported flu symptom surveys cannot replace traditional influenza testing and surveillance methods, they can hopefully give us a more up-to-date idea of respiratory illness trends.

 

And judging by the latest Flu Near You map (current as of 9:15am EST Dec 24th), ILI’s are showing no sign of slowing across the nation.

 

 

As the number of participants grows, it is hoped that this project will become a more reliable indicator of current ILI activity around the nation.

 

For more on this project, and information on how you can participate, see Do You Have It In You?

 

Meanwhile, now is the time to take those extra steps to try to protect yourself (and others) against the flu, and other viral diseases. 

 

• Washing your hands often
• Covering coughs and sneezes
• Staying home if you are sick.

 

And finally, to all of my friends and  readers around the world, I wish you a happy, healthy, and joyous holiday season.

»» Read More

Early Flu Cases Begin To Emerge

 

Photo Credit CDC Influenza Home Care Guide

# 6745

 

While it may not tell us a lot about how the rest of the 2012-2013 flu season will go, over the past couple of weeks several states have begun reporting spikes in early influenza activity.  The last FluView report from the CDC (Nov 17th) indicated flu activity was increasing in parts of the country; notably in the south central and southeastern states.

 

Likewise, the Flu Near You weekly online survey (of self reported symptoms) shows the greatest rate of ILI (Influenza-like-Illness) activity currently in the middle southern states.

 

Flu Near You map  11/29/12

 

NOTE: ILI’s can include many non-influenza viral illnesses, including adenovirus, parainfluenza, rhinovirus and others which are indistinguishable from influenza without laboratory tests (see Dozens Of Ways To Spell `I-L-I’).

 

Although `flu season’ can begin as early as October some years, it is generally December before the virus really begins to make its presence widely known. The Thanksgiving holiday, which often brings many family members together, may play a part in kick starting the epidemic each year.

 

Yesterday South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control issued the following notice, which included word of a pediatric flu fatality.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 28, 2012

Flu cases spiking early, first flu death in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control notes the state’s first flu-associated death of the season, as well as a significant and earlier-than-normal increase in influenza activity, the agency announced today.

 

“Tragically, a child from Barnwell County has become our first confirmed influenza-associated death of the season,” said Linda Bell, M.D. and interim state epidemiologist. “The flu can be especially serious for the very young and the elderly.

 

“Our latest statewide activity report indicates that influenza has quickly reached ‘widespread’ levels in South Carolina,” Dr. Bell said. “Flu activity typically peaks in February, and it is very unusual for us to see this number of cases so early in the season. Therefore, we strongly encourage vaccination to prevent the flu and its potentially serious consequences.”

(Continue . . .)

 

Similarly, reports from Central Florida indicate an early start here as well.  This from the Orlando Sentinel.

 

Flu season hitting earlier, local clinics say

1:09 p.m. EST, November 27, 2012|By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel

Flu season has arrived in Central Florida, and it's well ahead of schedule, according to Dr. Tim Hendrix, medical director for CentraCare, which operates 21 clinics throughout Central Florida.

 

The CentraCare clinics saw 250 confirmed cases of the flu last week alone. That's more than a 10-fold increase in flu cases compared to Thanksgiving week last year, when the clinics reported 21 confirmed cases, said Hendrix.

(Continue . . .)

 

Other states now confirming flu activity include Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, Maine, New York and Ohio. Most surveillance reports are trailing indicators – showing us the level of activity 1 to  2 weeks ago – so the level of activity today could be different.

 

In any event, if you haven’t gotten your flu shot, now would be an excellent time to do so, as it takes a couple of weeks to begin building antibodies once you get the shot.

 

No, it won’t protect you against non-influenza viral illnesses, and the protection it provides against the flu can vary from year-to-year and person-to-person. 

 

A meta-analysis by CIDRAP in 2011 (see A Comprehensive Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Meta-Analysis) found the trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV) had a combined efficacy of 59% among healthy adults (aged 18–65 years).

 

Still, flu shots have an excellent safety profile and remain one of the most effective preventatives against catching influenza. Beyond that, being vigilant (read: obsessive) regarding day-to-day flu hygiene is your best safeguard.

 

The CDC recommends:

 

 

Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
• See Everyday Preventive Actions  [257 KB, 2 pages] and Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) for more information about actions, apart from getting vaccinated and taking medicine, that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of illnesses like influenza (flu).

 

Of course, if all of these preventatives fail, stay home so you don’t share your virus with the world. If you are at high risk of complications, contact your doctor to see about taking antiviral medications.

Otherwise, CDC’s Influenza Home Care Guide should see you through.

»» Read More

The `Flu Near You’ Survey

 

 

# 5959

 

 

Earlier this week I profiled the European internet based flu survey system in Europe: Online Flu Monitoring Survey.

 

This morning I signed up to be part of a similar project here in the United States which is being run by Healthmap of Children’s Hospital Boston in partnership with the American Public Health Association and the Skoll Global Threats Fund.

 

 

The project is called FLU NEAR YOU.

 

Signing up takes just a minute, is free, and is open to all Americans over the age of 13. After you receive a confirmatory email, you are then then asked to complete a very simple weekly questionnaire (see below).

 

  

 

Your responses, along with all of the others gathered each week, are then mapped and graphed.

 

 

The information gathered will be made available to public health officials, researchers, disaster planning organizations and the general public.

 

Participation takes just a minute or so a week, and the more people who take part the better this system will work.   The website lists these features.

 

What can you do on Flu Near You?

The public can:

• Complete quick surveys to advance our collective understanding of the flu
• See flu activity in your area at the regional or state level
• Explore flu trends around the world with Google Flu trends
• Use the Flu Vaccine Finder to find nearby locations offering flu shots or nasal spray flu vaccine
• Connect to local public health links
• Receive customized email disease alerts at your location
• Learn more about flu news, information, and resources at flu.gov
• Explore the RSS feed on updates on nearby flu outbreaks and related flu news
• Browse the Disease Daily to discover summaries of important outbreaks and expanded coverage through the Outbreaks 101 news section

 

So I would encourage my readers to check out the site, and consider volunteering to take part in this surveillance project.

»» Read More

The Wide World Of Reports

 

 

# 5497

 

 

It’s a busy world out there, with literally scores of disease outbreaks, disasters, and other significant events taking place every week.

 

Keeping track, and detecting trends, can be a full time job.

 

Luckily we’ve several handy disaster, crisis, and disease mapping websites that do a remarkable job in this regard. 

 

Today, a brief review of four of them.

 

For versatility, and volume of reports, it’s hard to beat Healthmap.org’s  Healthmap.  

 

You can easily define the parameters to display, including disease types, locations, and information sources.  You can view the world in either map or satellite view, and of course you can drill down and examine individual reports.

 

You’ll also find quick views of recent outbreaks or crises.  Right now Japan, Antibiotic resistance, and Cholera in Haiti, and Measles are featured.

 

Healthmap began in 2006, and is fully interactive.  I first wrote about HealthMap in July of 2008 (see HealthMap On The Web)

 

 

A relative newcomer that I profiled last February is the PREDICT MAP, an offshoot from the Healthmap (above), that focuses on zoonotic outbreaks of disease around the globe

 

 

A screen shot of the PREDICT map shows global areas  currently of concern.

 

 

From the PREDICT Home page of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, we get this description.

PREDICT: Building a global early warning system for emerging diseases that move between wildlife and people.

In order to predict, respond to, and prevent the emergence of novel infectious diseases in humans, pathogens must be identified at their source. Explosive human population growth and environmental changes have resulted in increased numbers of people living in close contact with animals. Unfortunately the resulting increase in contact, together with changes in land use, has altered the inherent ecological balance between pathogens and their human and animal hosts.

 

 

A relatively new entry is the HEWS (Humanitarian Early Warning Service) developed by the United Nation’s WFP World Food Programme.  The focus here are on disasters that can affect food security, including floods, storms, locusts, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

 

 

And lastly, a disease specific map that I visit often. Dengue Watch tracks this rapidly spreading arbovirus around the world.

 

 

 

I hit each one of these maps at least once a day, trolling for stories for this blog, or simply to keep up-to-date on events around the world.

 

Since many of these reports are culled from newspaper and media reports, and those sometimes are less than completely accurate, maintaining a level of Caveat Lector is recommended.

 

But if taken with that understanding, these maps can be extremely useful and illuminating tools.

 

And let’s face it.  Getting real time updates from all around the world is pretty cool.

»» Read More

PREDICT: A Global Healthmap Of Zoonotic Disease

 

 

# 5297

 

 

Readers of this blog are no doubt familiar with Healthmap.org’s continually updated maps of disease outbreaks around the world.

 

I’ve used them often in my research, and have written about them numerous times, including (Healthmap.org: Charting Dengue’s Progress, Study: Unstructured Event-Based Global Infectious Disease Surveillance Systems and HealthMap On The Web.)

 

Via DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. of the New York Times, we learn of a new offshoot of the healthmap project (hat tip Tetano on FluTrackers) that focuses on zoonotic outbreaks of disease around the globe.

 

Outbreaks: A Tool to Track Animal Diseases May Help to Protect Humans

VIENNA — A new online mapping tool will enable scientists and the public to track outbreaks of animal diseases that might jump to humans.

(Continue . . .)

 

From the PREDICT Home page of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, we get this description.

 

PREDICT: Building a global early warning system for emerging diseases that move between wildlife and people.

In order to predict, respond to, and prevent the emergence of novel infectious diseases in humans, pathogens must be identified at their source. Explosive human population growth and environmental changes have resulted in increased numbers of people living in close contact with animals. Unfortunately the resulting increase in contact, together with changes in land use, has altered the inherent ecological balance between pathogens and their human and animal hosts.

 

<SNIP>

PREDICT project objectives:

• Assess local surveillance capacity;
• Implement targeted and adaptive wildlife disease surveillance systems;
• Develop and deliver new technologies to improve efforts close to the source;
• Use cutting-edge information management and communication tools to bring the world closer to realizing an integrated, global approach to emerging zoonotic diseases.

 

 

A screen shot of the PREDICT map shows global areas  currently of concern.

 

 

By zooming in, one can take a closer look at any region of the globe.  Here is a close up of South East Asia.

 

By clicking the `pins’, once can pull up a detailed (linked) list of outbreak information.

 

This looks to be an invaluable resource for the world of emerging infectious diseases, one that I’m sure we will avail ourselves of often.

»» Read More

Healthmap Snapshot of Cholera In Haiti

 

 

 

# 5009

 

 

Although Crof at Crofsblog  has been doing the heavy lifting on the Cholera story out of Haiti, a tweet this morning on the  outbreak by @sukitink sent me to the constantly updated Healthmap project , which pinpoints reported cases of infectious disease all over the world.

 

Frankly, I should have thought of it on my own, since I’ve used this resource in the past.

 

Healthmap.org describes their free service this way.

 

About HealthMap

HealthMap brings together disparate data sources to achieve a unified and comprehensive view of the current global state of infectious diseases and their effect on human and animal health.

This freely available Web site integrates outbreak data of varying reliability, ranging from news sources (such as Google News) to curated personal accounts (such as ProMED) to validated official alerts (such as World Health Organization). Through an automated text processing system, the data is aggregated by disease and displayed by location for user-friendly access to the original alert.

 

I’ve written about Healthmap often in the past, and have a link to it in my sidebar (see Healthmap.org: Charting Dengue’s Progress, Study: Unstructured Event-Based Global Infectious Disease Surveillance Systems and HealthMap On The Web.)

 

The front page of the Healthmap has a one-click button to bring up the latest reports – including scrolling news items – from Haiti.

 

  .

You can see a closer view of the outbreak reports below. On the Healthmap page, each pin is clickable, and will bring up the associated report.  You can also impose filters to show or hide various aspects of the map.

 

 

Whether you are keeping track of Cholera in Haiti, Bird Flu in Indonesia, or the march of Dengue around the world – Healthmap.org provides a valuable and easy to use tool to analyze each outbreak.

»» Read More

Healthmap.org: Charting Dengue’s Progress

 

 

# 4792

 

 

With a handful of reports of Dengue Fever here in Florida, along with a few human EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) cases as well, I was happy to see our local mosquito spraying truck crisscrossing my neighborhood last night.

 

Gone are the greasy-oily-smoke pesticide belching trucks of my youth, however.  Today my county’s mosquito control agency uses ULV (Ultra Low Volume) spray, which delivers a minimum effective amount of pesticide in an ultra-fine nearly invisible mist.  

 

While no one likes to see pesticides being sprayed, tropical diseases are a minor concern here in Florida only due to an aggressive mosquito control program going back before WWII.

 

Dengue Fever has seen a tremendous global growth over the past 60 years, moving out of the tropics into dozens of subtropical and even temperate regions.

 

The World Health Organization has this to say about its global spread in its Dengue and Dengue haemorrhagic fever fact sheet.

 

The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. Some 2.5 billion people – two fifths of the world's population – are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year.

 

In 2007 alone, there were more than 890 000 reported cases of dengue in the Americas, of which 26 000 cases were DHF.

 

The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-east Asia and the Western Pacific. South-east Asia and the Western Pacific are the most seriously affected. Before 1970 only nine countries had experienced DHF epidemics, a number that had increased more than four-fold by 1995.

 

Not only is the number of cases increasing as the disease is spreading to new areas, but explosive outbreaks are occurring. In 2007, Venezuela reported over 80 000 cases, including more than 6 000 cases of DHF.

You’ll find an interactive map charting Dengue’s progress around the world on the CDC’s Dengue page, a collaboration between Healthmap and the CDC.

 

While you’ll want to explore the map yourself, I’ve taken a few screen shots to illustrate the kind of data you’ll find.

 

 

The Latin America `quick view’ gives us a snapshot of Dengue in the Americas, including its recent encroachment into the United States.

 

 

Clicking on any of the pins brings up a window with links to recent reports from that area.   In this case, I clicked on Key West, Florida.

 

 

You’ll also find a scrolling list of recent Dengue Alerts below the map, with clickable links for recent reports.

 

 

Although comprehensive, and extremely useful, this mapping tool doesn’t capture all of the Dengue reports from around the world.   Their disclaimer reads:

 

This map may be used as a guide for the assessment of dengue risk throughout the world. The dark blue regions represent areas of ongoing transmission risk as defined by CDC based on data from Ministries of Health, WHO and other international health organizations, journals, and knowledgeable experts (last updated in 2008 for the CDC Yellow Book).

 

Recent reports of local and regional dengue transmission collected by HealthMap are shown as red markers with links to the respective reports. A lack of recent reports for any given area does not indicate that no transmission is occurring, particularly in the many risk map areas where dengue is endemic. For more information on dengue, visit the CDC Dengue Page.

 

Nevertheless, this is a terrific resource. And it isn’t just for Dengue.   

 

http://healthmap.org/en/  provides maps, and updates on a wide variety of disease reports from around the world. 

 

Check it out.

»» Read More